Fireman Jim's first 150 gallon reef tank

[JGard911]

Hello everyone

Well ..... I have a hole in the wall, so i guess there is no turning back now. Unless I can find a real big picture to cover the hole.

My wife and I have always wanted a salt water reef tank displayed thru a wall in our dining room. I am within 5 years of retirement from the fire department and both my boys are out of college, so I guess this is the time to start this adventure. I am a little nervous, but hope I have read enough to pull this off without too many disasters.

I opened the wall a couple of weeks ago, and of course the first thing I saw was hot and cold water pipes, heating pipes, and pvc waste pipe, right where I wanted the tank.
So after a little (actually a lot) of plumbing, I now have a hole framed in the wall. The water pipes and drain pipes might actually come in handy for a water change system I have in mind.

My plan is to have the tank visible on 3 sides, with one side thru the wall. I had holes drilled in the bottom of the tank for an internal overflow, in the center of the end of the tank that will be buried in the wall.

After some advice from members here, I have decided to go with a sump/refuge and protein skimmer for filtration. I have found a pre built sump/refuge made by ADHI for about $400, but that seems like a lot of money for what it is. So I may still try the DIY sump.

My plan for a water change system is a RO/DI feeding into a 45 gallon fresh water tank stacked above a second 45 gallon salt tank in the corner to the left of the aquarium.

Lots of people on this site have already been very helpful. I am going to be seeking a lot more advice, so thank you all in advance.

The adventure begins ….

 

[Nowellsy SNR]

Nice look forward to more pics good luck

 

[JGard911]

I picked up my tank today.

After I got it home, I looked at the pre dilled holes and checked to see if the overflow kit would fit. As usual with my luck, they did not.
The two holes in the tank are 1 1/2" and 1 3/4". The drain line inside diameter (ID) is 1 1/2". They reduce it down to a 1" pipe to go thru the bulkhead. Wont that reduce the maximum flow thru the 1 1/2" drain line? Will that be enough flow for my 150 gallon tank?

The 1" ID supply line wont even fit in the 1 1/2" hole that was drilled. The bulkhead fitting itself is a minimum 1 5/8"
I am hoping that wasnt a mistake by the LFS.

Update: The LFS says I just need a different bulkhead to fit into the 1 1/2" hole. Still a little concerned about the flow rates thru the reduced drain line.

 

[Tru2nr]

Good luck can't wait to see pics of the tank. I love the way a in-wall tank looks

 

[tnwillia]

Great start, have fun!

 

[JGard911]

I sent my wife off cape to get the bulkhead the LFS claimed would fit in the predrilled 1 1/2" hole and of course it did not. I have a feeling they will have to come down here and try and make the hole bigger. I dont really want the responsibility of trying to do it myself. They had originally claimed the the bottom of the tank was tempered glass. I guess now it is a good thing it isnt.

 

[jpsika08]

Congrats on the new tank and nice start.

What size of bulkhead you're installing in that hole?

 

[seabass]

Thats how my 150 was.There are 2 different types of bulkheads other then how the piping hooks up.There is a schedule 80 and schedule 40 bulkheads.Sounds to me like you need schedule 40.My glassholes tank used schedule 80's.But if you buy a magaflow overflow kit they reduce it down before it goes through the bulkhead,and if you look up durso standpipe that also reduces at the bulkhead.Im sure you will be fine,but I can not explain why it is reduced maybe someone can explain.

 

[JGard911]

OK The LFS owner says that the 1 1/2" drain line is sufficient, even tho it is reduced down to a 1" pipe to fit thru the 1 3/4" hole going thru the bottom of the tank. On the return line, he said we can use a 3/4" line to fit thru the 1 1/2" hole, but because it is under pressure, large enough volumes can be pushed thru that line.

Now, I am a firefighter. I am familiar with the concepts of pressure and volume and friction loss. The numbers do calculate out correctly. I just want to be sure that this setup has no down sides. In order to get more volume thru a 3/4" line on the return side, the pressure will have to be higher, which would require a larger pump, which would use more energy. This will also result in a much higher discharge pressure and flow in the tank.

Can there be too much pressure, with too high a water flow rate in the tank?
Will too high a water flow rate push the sand around or make it difficult for fish to swim against the current or effect coral in any way?

On the bright side. I think I have decided to go with all "dead" rock and us Dr. Tims method of cycling my new tank. I ordered 50 lbs. of rock from reefcleaners.com just to see if what I get is close to what they advertise on their website. If it is I will order another 100+ lbs.

I also decided to build my own sump/refugium from scratch. I ordered cut to size pieces of plexiglass from ridoutplastics.com which should be here tomorrow. I watched some videos on youtube about working with plexiglass sheets and "welding" them together with solvent and it didn’t look too difficult. I am kind of looking forward to trying it. If it works out, the cost will be less than half of what I could buy a prefabricated one for, and it will be exactly what I had envisioned.

My 9 year old niece did come over last night and ask where the fish were. LOL

 

[cheeks69]

Congrats on the setup Jim love in-wall tanks.

Can there be too much pressure, with too high a water flow rate in the tank?

In a 150 gallon tank I doubt even a powerful return pump would be sufficient to provide the flow you need for a healthy tank. I'm not an expert but you can use this calculator to check how much head loss you'll have from the amount of PVC you'll use, it can be considerable.

Head loss

 

[JGard911]

Congrats on the setup Jim love in-wall tanks.
I'm not an expert but you can use this calculator to check how much head loss you'll have from the amount of PVC you'll use.
Head loss

Robert

Thank you for that link. The calculated GPH with a Mag12 pump only came out to be 631 GPH. I would guess that would be at a pretty high discharge pressure, which remains a concern. I have read that you want your turnover rate to be 4-5 times your gallonage. So with a 150 gallon tank and a 40 gallon sump/refugium, that means I want a GPH of 760-950.

I know the LFS doesnt want to risk drilling the holes bigger, but unless anyone else thinks what I have is sufficient, I'm pretty sure I am going to ask them to do it.
When I ordered the tank, I was counting on my LFS to give me what I needed. I waited for the tank as a special order from the factory for over 2 months.

 

[cheeks69]

Jim I have 1 1/2" drain and 1 " return with a MAG 12 return pump on a 93 gal DT and 20 gal sump with no issues.

 

[JGard911]

Jim I have 1 1/2" drain and 1 " return with a MAG 12 return pump on a 93 gal DT and 20 gal sump with no issues.

Robert
For the return, I currently have a 1 1/2" pipe which reduces down to a 1" to fit thru the bulkhead. For the supply, I dont have a pipe that fits (they sent me home with a 1"), but the LFS says only a 3/4" will fit thru the current bulkhead. So I assume it would probably be better if they were bigger for my 150/40.

I noticed you are in the Northeast. I am on Cape Cod. Are you anywhere near?

 

[cheeks69]

I'm on the armpit of Massachusetts, Fall River...lol

 

[redneckgearhead]

Please, someone correct me if Im wrong but, I believe that 1" pvc pipe at low pressure will flow 960 gph. So you should be fine with your current setup.

 

[JGard911]

My first 50 pounds of dead rock arrived today and it looks pretty much as pictured on the website
Going to order another 100 pounds today.
I kind of like the aquascaping in the box. Like the cave it created.
Might just take it out of the box as is. Hope they all come that way. LOL

My sump/refugium arrived also ...

Well .. The precut panels anyway ..
Looking forward to putting it together tomorrow. Hope it is as easy as it looked on the Youtube videos
Does anyone have experience with "welding" plexiglass together?

 

[jpsika08]

Great news, hope to see the sump together and the rockscape

 

[JGard911]

I just ordered a PM Bullet 2 protein skimmer. It recommends a Mag 18 pump. I am only using a Mag 12 pump on my return line back to the tank. If I use a Mag 18 pump, pumping water into the return area in my sump, wont it pump more water in than the Mag 12 can pump out?

I decided to wait to put my sump/refugium together until I get my protein skimmer and pump to make sure I make that section of the sump big enough.

 

[jpsika08]

The water for the skimmer is recirculating, so the water that's getting pulled from the sump into the skimmer will get back to the return area, the amount of water must be the same at the end.

 

[JGard911]

Thanks Juan
I guess I just have to see it in action to understand it.
By the way. I am also enjoying watching your fish room build. I thought my project was a big one !! LOL
Keep the pictures coming.